Football News

There are few higher-stakes encounters in club football than the suffocating tension of a two-legged UEFA Champions League semifinal. 

This season sees 14-time winners Real Madrid tackle fellow European heavyweights Bayern Munich, while Paris Saint-Germain’s ongoing quest for a first Champions League crown brings them face to face with Bayern’s Bundesliga counterparts Borussia Dortmund.

PSG’s gripping quarterfinal against Barcelona turned decisively in their favour when Ronald Araujo was sent off for Xavi’s side. There is every chance of players buckling under the pressure or losing their cool in the semis and four tough nights await for the referees and their teams of officials.

But what are the suspension rules in UEFA competitions and what is the risk when it comes to players helping their team to the Wembley final and being forced to watch from the sidelines?

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For a few generations of English football fans and many others around the globe, the spectre of the totting up yellow card suspension brings one man to mind. Paul Gascoigne.

England’s breakout superstar had done much to haul Bobby Robson’s Three Lions to the semifinals of the 1990 World Cup, where they took West Germany to extra time. With the scores locked at 1-1, Gascoigne launched into a late lunge on Thomas Berthold and received a yellow card that would rule him out of the final should his team get there. Gazza burst into tears and the waterworks were on again by the time England lost on penalties.

In the Champions League, players receive a one-match suspension after receiving three bookings that do not result in a red card. For example, if a player is sent off for two bookable offences

Borussia Dortmund Paul Gascoigne Bobby Robson Ronald Araujo